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O Little Town of Bethlehem

One of my favorite Christmas carols is "O Little Town of Bethlehem". Written by Philips Brooks, it captures so eloquently and beautifully the magic of Christmas. He composed it following a never-to-be- forgotten visit to Bethlehem in 1868 when he was then rector of Trinity Church, Boston. On December 24, 1865, Phillips Brooks was a half a world away from home and feeling like an older man than his thirty years. Already recognized as one of the most dynamic Christian voices in America, it was Brooks, only six years into his ministry, who had been called upon in May to give the funeral message over President Abraham Lincoln. That solemn honor, in tandem with leading the congregation of Philadelphia’s Holy Trinity Church through the bloody years of the Civil War, had taken its toll. Worn out and badly needing a spiritual rebirth, Brooks took a sabbatical and left the United States to find himself – he went to the Middle East.

On Christmas Eve in Jerusalem, the American felt an urge to get away from the hundreds of other pilgrims who had journeyed to the Holy Land for the holidays. Although warned that he might encounter thieves, the preacher borrowed a horse and set out across the desolate and unforgiving countryside. For many peaceful hours he was alone with his thoughts as he studied a land that had changed little since the days of Paul and Timothy. For the minister, December 24th was a wonderful time of prayer and meditation.

At dusk, a sudden sense of awe fell over Brooks. Under a clear sky, the first stars just beginning to emerge, he rode into the still tiny and remote village of Bethlehem. He recalled the story of the birth of his Savior, and by being present in the place in which Jesus was born, was able to add vivid detail to the familiar story in Scripture. The great speaker was all but speechless as he considered the heavenly Kin, born in such modest surroundings. There, on streets almost unchanged since biblical times, Brooks felt as if he were surrounded by the spirit of the first Christmas. He would later tell his family and friends that the experience was so overpowering that it would forever be “singing in my soul.”

As Brooks, in an attempt to rediscover and restore his own faith, left the pulpit to visit the Holy Land, we too this Christmas Eve can escape the hurriedness of the season and find healing for our soul in the manager of the Christ child. For Brooks, it was a trip that dramatically changed his life and renewed his calling. The dark days ended, the joy of living returned, and his attitude again became apparent in his every step and word. It can be that for us also!

When Brooks returned, it took him three years to express in words what he had experienced that December 24th in Bethlehem. The final result was the hymn we now have called O Little Town of Bethlehem.

There was one verse of the hymn that Brooks wrote that was never published, it was verse three. Listen to the words:

Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child
Where misery cries out to Thee
Son of the Mother mild
Where Charity stands watching
And Faith holds wide the door
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks
The Christmas comes once more.

“The Christmas comes once more.” Is this just one more “Christmas” for you? Or will you find the rebirth, as Brooks felt, by going to the humble manager. As Jesus is born, we can be reborn IN HIM and experience newness because of His grace.

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by:
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light:
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

Bethlehem is very much on my mind at the moment. The carol speaks of ‘peace’ - but there is little peace in the Holy Land at this present time. I find myself asking - Are we doing enough to support our brothers and sisters in this land? How many have to die violently before the leaders of all parties realize that there will never be peace until the land and the people belong to Christ?

The carol speaks of God's gift of His Son:

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still
The dear Christ enters in.

The conditioning adjective here is 'meek', or we might say 'humble'. I have often wondered if Brooks had in mind that small Crusader entrance in The Church of the Nativity which is so low that adults have to stoop to enter. Brooks would have entered the same door and the image must have hit him forcefully. But the image bites both ways. Christ stoops so low to enter our hearts - here is a piercing reference to the incarnation! This is the 'dearness' of the Christ who enters human life. But the reverse is true as well; we too must make that journey to 'Bethlehem' and stoop to enter into the fullness of the Christian life.

I offer you this meditation on this carol because it sums up so clearly the Christian message and Christian hope. May we ... be 'Bethlehem people', characterized by a devotion to a Lord who wants all to share His love and be eager to be men and women of peace, touching the lives of others – as Jesus did – in their hurts and pains and desperation. I wish to send to you my earnest desire that all our hopes and fears will be met in the One who is the eternal 'Immanuel'.

I, together with my family and the staff at Lutheran Church Charities wish you and your family a CHRIST filled CHRISTmas. Thank you for your friendship and support this past year. May God Bless all of you and may HIS love cause you to find rest in HIM.

Tim